CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight - Transcript

CNN

SHOW: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT 18:00

HEADLINE: Massive Redeployment of U.S. Troops Announced; Interview With Susan Collins, Carl Levin

GUESTS: General David Grange, Bruce Loucks, Senator Susan Collins, Senator Carl Levin

BYLINE: Lou Dobbs, Dana Bash, Sean Callebs, Ed Henry, Deborah Feyerick, Casey Wian, Lucia Newman, Christine Romans, Kitty Pilgrim

HIGHLIGHT:
President Bush announces the biggest realignment of U.S. troops abroad in some 50 years. Opponents say plan would weaken national security.

BODY:
DOBBS: Ed Henry from Capitol Hill, thank you.

My guests tonight are senators who took part in today's hearing. In a moment, I'll be talking with the ranking Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, Senator Carl Levin.

First, we're joined by Senator Susan Collins. She's the chairwoman of the governmental affairs committee, also a member of the armed services committee joining us tonight from Washington.

Senator, good to have you with us.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS ®, ARMED SERVICES CMTE: Good evening.

DOBBS: The major proposal, of course, is for the creation of a national intelligence czar, a national intelligence director.

Do you fully and vigorously support that proposal?

COLLINS: I do. I think it's the most important recommendation made by the 9/11 commission. But it's important that we give the new director the authority to get the job done. And that means giving the director budget authority. Otherwise, we risk creating just another layer of bureaucracy and not really changing what happens.

DOBBS: You heard from three former intelligence directors, CIA directors, suggesting some considerable caution here. You're not in any way-your enthusiasm for the NID is not in any way dampened?

COLLINS: It really isn't, although I found the testimony today to be very helpful. To me it's notable that each of the former directors, despite whatever reservations they may have about our moving forward at this time, said-advised us that if we're going to create the position to not make it a paper tiger, but rather to grant sufficient authority to the new national intelligence director to make a difference.

To me one of the most startling findings in the 9/11 commission report was that George Tenet, the former DCI, issued a declaration of war against the al Qaeda back in December of 1998 and said that we should marshal all of our resources and people against this threat, and yet he did not have sufficient authority to really do that, to make a difference.

DOBBS: And that, of course, in some measure because of the interplay between George Tenet, the head of CIA and Sandy Berger, the national security adviser to President Clinton.

Do you believe that the NID role, as presently proposed by the 9/11 commission solves that issue?

COLLINS: I do. We're talking about creating a position that would be the principal adviser to the president that would oversee the resources for the 15 intelligence agencies that are now scattered across the government.

We have to do this carefully because we want to make sure that those aspects of our intelligence system that work well, such as providing intelligence to our troops in the field, are not disrupted. But there's lots of room for improvement.

DOBBS: And turning to the issue of improvement, President Bush today announcing that as many as 150,000 U.S. troops, their family members, civilian workers will be moved, re-deployed overseas back to this country in order to fight better the war on terror.

Do you support the president in this redeployment, this massive redeployment?

COLLINS: I do support the concept, although as a member of the armed services committee, I want to see the details.

But our troops overseas have been structured as if we were still fighting the cold war with the Soviet Union as our principal adversary. It simply doesn't make sense and is too expensive for us to have massive numbers of troops stationed in Germany, for example.

I think this redeployment makes sense. I want to see the details, but it's something that Congress has been pressing for, for some time.

DOBBS: Senator Susan Collins, we thank you very much for being with us tonight.

COLLINS: Thank you, Lou.